Saturday, July 18, 2009

Fayetteville won their second big tournament today as they put down both Shiloh Christian in the finals of the winners bracket and Rogers in the finals to finish the two day stretch 11-0. They also went undefeated at the Shootout of the South last month as they took home that championship.

Brandon Allen and Michael Heintzman were named the MVP's of the tournament.

More on Saturday's Tournament later.

FRIDAY:

Fayetteville, Shiloh Christian, Sherman (TX), and Springdale went undefeated in pool play on Friday.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

The 2nd Annual VYPE Select 7-on-7 begins Friday with 31 teams traveling to Northwest Arkansas for the two-day event. The VYPE tournament assembles most of the best 7-on-7 teams and skill position players from across the state.

This year's tournament field is loaded with just about all of the champions and runners-up from prior tournaments. Lake Hamilton is coming off of a tournament championship at Fountain Lake last weekend, and Lakeside finished as the runner-up. Shiloh Christian won their inaugural Southwest Select 7-on-7 last weekend defeating Fayetteville, the Shootout of the South champion, in the finals. Sonic Air Raid runner-up, Greenbrier, will also compete this weekend.

The only in-state champions from major tournaments not attending are Bryant from the Arkansas Sports Performance Center Summer Showdown and Pulaski Academy from the Sonic Air Raid. Pulaski Academy won last year's inaugural VYPE Select Tournament.

Other teams highlighting the field are last year's tournament runner-up, Sherman (TX), last year's 5A and 6A state runner-up, West Helena and El Dorado, and the always dangerous Pine Bluff with senior quarterback, Claude Johnson.

The favorite for this year's event would have to be Shiloh Christian. They have a very good junior class with an outstanding quarterback as well as the system to get it done.

After Shiloh would be Fayetteville, likely followed by Sherman, Springdale, Lake Hamilton, and Pine Bluff.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Perryville Coach Marc Tucker has admirable goals for his 7-on-7 tournament. "We hope to get this to be the biggest small school tournament in the state. We want the small schools to have a change to compete against teams on their own level."

Coach Tucker is trying to encourage teams who have been discouraged. He believes many small schools don't play 7-on-7 or don't play it much because most tournaments will be filled with teams from all different classifications all the way up to 7A. His desire is to provide a place where those teams can come and compete without worrying about being embarrassed.

This same idea was first conceived by Coach Marc Davis and Tommy Gilleran at Fountain Lake when their tournament had grown to the point where they had to solve the problem of keeping the likes of Springdale and Fayetteville from coming and feasting on teams like themselves and Dierks. They separated their tournament into a large school and small school division. This is best for both sides as competition is better for everyone involved.

So as many of the large schools travel to Fayetteville this weekend for the VYPE tournament, many small schools can get their work in at Perryville.

Coach Tucker is still looking for 3-4 more teams to put his tournament at 12. If you are interested, you can contact him at (501) 889-2266.

The tournament currently has 8 teams: Fountain Lake, Mansfield, Two Rivers (a consolodated school of Ola, Fourche Valley, and Plainview), Des Arc, Walnut Ridge, Mountain Pine, Cutter Morning Star, and of course, Perryville. He is also waiting to hear back from a ninth team, Union Christian.

They will begin play at 9 A.M. on Saturday. They will be divided into two pools with each team playing every team from their pool. The top two teams from each pool will play in a 4-team, single-elimination tournament to crown the champion. Each game will be 20-minute running clock using popular 7-on-7 scoring rules: 6 pts for TD, 1-pt automatic or 2-pt option from the 10-yard line, 2 pts for INT.

Admission will be free. T-shirts will be provided for coaches and for the championship team. Concessions will be provided with snacks, drinks, and burgers. Water will be provided for the players. These accomodations are made possible by two sponsors: Perry County Big Star Food and Drug and TJ's Quick Stop.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Shiloh Christian will host the inaugural Southwest Elite 7-on-7 Showcase this Friday and Saturday in Springdale. The tournament will provide spectators with exciting games as some of the top teams in Northwest Arkansas and some strong out-of-state competition will be there.

There will be 12 teams divided into two pools of six. Each team will play five intrapool games and two games from teams outside their pool. The tournament will be after lunch on Saturday with seeding being from the teams' pool play record.

Arkansas Teams:

Shiloh Christian - The Saints are one of the top passing teams in the state and have one of the most talented junior classes in the state regardless of competition. They have two very good junior quarterbacks in Kiehl Frazier and David Matthews. They are the defending 4A State Champions.

Bentonville - The Tigers are the 7A State Champions and will threaten for the title again this year as they return almost everyone on the offensive side of the ball. They have one of the best coaches in the history of Arkansas High School football, in Barry Lunney, Sr. He is one of the pioneers of the spread offense in Arkansas, however, Bentonville has not been historically strong in 7-on-7 competition.

Arkansas Baptist - The Eagles are not traditionally a top team in their classification, but they have fared well the last few years in 7-on-7 competitions. That can partly be attributed to their quarterback, Logan Quinn, and his go-to receiver, Greg Bowie. Bowie is gone, but Quinn will still be leading the team as the signal caller.

Mayflower - The Eagles are coming off one of their best seasons in history, but they have graduated many of the reasons why. However, Coach Jed Davis is ready to show that this team is not going to just lay down. They competed well at the Shootout of the South with their only big loss coming to Fayetteville.

Har-Ber - All you need to know is that the Wildcats are the defending 7-on-7 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS. They will also be one of the favorites to win the 7A title this year.

Fayetteville - The Purple Dogs won the Shootout of the South, rolling through pool play and the tournament undefeated and almost unchallenged. They have arguably the best quarterback in the state in junior Brandon Allen. They also have a very athletic and polished receiving corps.

Springdale - The Red Dogs are coming off of a tough season but will return 13 starters off of that 5-6 team. In order to do well this weekend, they will need junior quarterback Joseph Calcagni and some receivers to step in for graduated Missouri commit Ashton Glaser and one of the state's best receivers last year, Ladarius Eckwood.

Siloam Springs - The Panthers are building a tradition as they have been to the playoffs for four straight years in the tough 5A West. They are now under first year head coach Bryan Ross, who has been the offensive coordinator. Siloam should do well this weekend with their offensive and defensive systems, but they are relatively new on the 7-on-7 circuit.

Out of State Teams:

Jenks (OK) - The Trojans were the 6A runners-up last year and have one of the best programs in the region.

Muskogee (OK) - The Roughers finished 7-4 last sason and were conference runners-up.

Metro Christian (Tulsa, OK) - The Patriots finished 9-3 last season under first year head coach Jared McCoy.

Neosho (MO) - The Wildcats finished 8-4 last season and finished first in conference.UPDATE: NEOSHO WILL NOT BE ATTENDING. SHILOH JUNIOR VARSITY WILL BE TAKING THEIR PLACE ON THE SCHEDULE.

We feel the favorites for the tournament are Fayetteville and Shiloh Christian. Both teams boast great quarterbacks and well-polished receivers with great offensive systems. Although Har-Ber is the defending national champions, they may not have the experience at quarterback to string together enough wins against these teams to win this tournament.

Admission for the tournament is free. Concessions will be available and will be ran by Chik Fil A.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

The longest running 7-on-7 tournament in the state is this weekend at Fountain Lake. Fourteen teams will participate. Seven schools will compete for a "large" division (5A-7A) title, while the other seven will compete for a "small" division (2A-4A) championship.

The tournament will begin at 9 A.M. Saturday morning. Each team will play six games against the other teams in their pool. The top two teams in each pool will then play at 5:40 for a championship in their division. Pool play games will be 20 minutes running clock. The championship game will be two 15-minute halves.

The large division teams that will be competing are Conway, Bryant, Lake Hamilton, Lakeside, Morrilton, Pulaski Academy, and Fountain Lake Junior Varsity.

Lake Hamilton is a threat to win every tournament they play. Pulaski Academy has lost just four tournament games this summer to two teams, Arlington Bowie and Bryant. Unfortunately for them, Bryant lamblasted them in the finals of the Arkansas Sports Performance Center Summer Showdown at Robinson, and Bryant will be the favorite to win on Saturday.

Conway and Morrilton have the athletes to cause matchup problems for each of these "favorites," and Lakeside is capable of beating any of these teams, especially with the short 20 minute length of the games.

Although Ashdown will be the most athletic team, Fountain Lake may be the favorite with their experience in 7-on-7. They played very well in the Shootout of the South, handing North Little Rock their only loss in pool play. They fell two points short against Lake Hamilton and Magnolia, and were within a touchdown against 7A Rogers Heritage. Expect Perryville to compete for one of the top two spots and play for the championship. Mansfield may also surprise some people.

The cost of admission to the tournament is free. Concessions will be available with drinks, hot dogs, and nachos. Water will be provided for the players, and a hospitality room will be available to the coaches. T-shirts will be awarded to the champions of each division.